Cannes Dance Festival
The essential meeting point for contemporary dance on the French Riviera
About Cannes Dance Festival
A quarter of a century of dance at the Palais des Festivals
The Cannes Dance Festival – French Riviera France is a leading cultural event celebrating contemporary dance in all its forms. Created over twenty years ago, the festival is held annually at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes, a venue world-renowned for hosting the Cannes Film Festival. Under the artistic direction of Didier Deschamps, it has established itself as an unmissable event for dance enthusiasts and professionals alike.
An exceptional international program
Each edition brings together around twenty international companies from eight to ten different countries: Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and many more. The program features approximately fifty events, including world premieres, French premieres, and Southern France premieres. This geographical and artistic diversity offers a unique panorama of contemporary choreographic creation.
Performance venues across the French Riviera
While the Palais des Festivals is the heart of the festival, the event extends across the entire French Riviera thanks to the collaboration of nine partner cultural institutions. Performances are also presented in Antibes, Nice, Carros, Grasse, Mougins, and in the Var region. This regional dimension allows the festival to reach a broad and diverse audience, far beyond just the residents of Cannes.
MOV'IN Cannes: dance and cinema
The festival includes MOV'IN Cannes, an original program that combines dance and cinema. Student panels actively participate in the selection and screening of films blending the two disciplines. Screenings are held publicly before a jury, creating a space for dialogue between choreographic and cinematic arts. This innovative section reinforces the multidisciplinary dimension of the festival.
Workshops, masterclasses, and encounters
Beyond the performances, the Cannes Dance Festival offers a rich program of encounters and exchanges. Workshops and masterclasses allow amateur and professional dancers to work with renowned choreographers. Round tables, conferences, and backstage encounters provide privileged access to contemporary choreographic creation. The festival has become a place for reflection and training as much as a performance venue.
An now annual festival
Initially biennial, the Cannes Dance Festival has become annual, reflecting its growing success and its commitment to establishing itself durably in the cultural landscape of the French Riviera and the nation. This evolution allows for a renewed program each year and helps to build a loyal and ever-larger audience. The festival benefits from exceptional technical conditions at the Palais des Festivals, with world-class stages and equipment.
Cannes Dance Festival — edition 2026
The Cannes – Côte d'Azur France Dance Festival returns from November 21 to December 6, 2026 at the Palais des Festivals, under the artistic direction of Didier Deschamps. This new edition brings together 25 companies from 11 countries, with a spotlight on distant Australia, around a season dedicated to music.
An edition dedicated to music
For its 2026 edition, the Cannes – Côte d'Azur Dance Festival makes music one of its guiding principles: emblematic symphonic scores and reinterpretations of repertoires dialogue with contemporary sound compositions, live percussion, breaths, voices, and jazz rhythms. The festival also highlights choral writing, assertive female perspectives, and the encounter between new generations of dancers and established artists, with particular attention paid to young audiences.
25 companies, 11 countries
From November 21 to December 6, 2026, the event hosts 25 companies from 11 countries and gives a prominent place to Australian creation. Among the productions supported by the festival are the Beaver Dam Company by Édouard Hue ("Avant la nuit" / "L'Oiseau de feu"), Emanuel Gat Dance ("Cinq jours au soleil"), and the Cannes Jeune Ballet Rosella Hightower.
A program that shines across the Côte d'Azur
Around the Palais des Festivals, nine cultural structures from the Alpes-Maritimes and Var regions are partnering with the event: Anthéa (Antibes), Cineum (Cannes), Forum Jacques Prévert (Carros), Scène 55 (Mougins), Théâtre de Grasse, Théâtres en Dracénie (Draguignan), Théâtre La Licorne (Cannes), Théâtre Le Forum – Estérel Côte d'Azur (Fréjus), and Théâtre National de Nice.
Beyond the shows
The edition also offers film screenings, the video-dance competition MOV'IN Cannes at Cineum, masterclasses and workshops, round tables and discussion sessions, as well as a Giga Barre open every Sunday near the Croisette, inviting amateurs and curious individuals to get moving.
Programme Cannes Dance Festival 2026
2026 Program (from November 21 to December 6) announced by the festival, currently being completed on the official website:
Confirmed Companies and Shows
- Beaver Dam Company – Édouard Hue: "Avant la nuit" / "L'Oiseau de feu"
- Emanuel Gat Dance: "Cinq jours au soleil"
- Cannes Jeune Ballet Rosella Hightower
25 companies from 11 countries are expected throughout the edition, complemented by film screenings, the MOV'IN Cannes video-dance competition, masterclasses, round tables, and the Sunday Giga Barre. The day-by-day details of shows and schedules are progressively published on festivaldedanse-cannes.com.
Highlights Cannes Dance Festival 2026
- 25 companies from 11 countries, focus on Australian creation
- Music as the common thread of the 2026 edition
- Supported productions: Beaver Dam Company (Édouard Hue), Emanuel Gat Dance, Cannes Jeune Ballet Rosella Hightower
- MOV'IN Cannes, video-dance competition at Cineum
- Giga Barre open every Sunday near the Croisette
Prices Cannes Dance Festival 2026
Practical information — Cannes Dance Festival
Access
By car: The Palais des Festivals is located at 1 Boulevard de la Croisette, Cannes. Accessible via the A8 motorway, Cannes exit. Paid parking nearby (Palais parking, Laubeuf parking).
By train: Cannes SNCF station, a 10-minute walk from the Palais des Festivals.
By bus: Palm Bus lines serving the city center of Cannes.
Schedules
Performances mainly in the evening (8 PM or 8:30 PM). Matinees on weekends. Consult the detailed program on the official website.
Prices
Prices vary depending on the performance: from €10 to €40. Festival passes and reduced rates available. Tickets available on cannesticket.com and festivaldedanse-cannes.com.
Contact
Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes
1 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes
Website: www.festivaldedanse-cannes.com
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Where does it take place — Cannes Dance Festival
Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes
1 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes